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Moonlit Generations (WE): Prologue
A solid pelt trotted through the reeds. They brushed softly against his fur and swayed a little in a slight gentle breeze that promised to never hurt them. The cat turned into a silhouette against a gray-turned-silver boulder that moonlight decided to rest on for a long time. The cat then leaped on top of the boulder, his fur clear as the moonlight moved mostly onto him instead of the boulder. The soft breeze ruffled his fur slightly as he lifted his gaze up to the shimmering stars that overlooked the rocky terrain. Then, he flicked his tail as if in a signal, and several other cats padded from the shadows in a cluster as if they tried to protect each other from a deadly and silent predator. A sleek she-cat sprang next to the dark tabby, settling herself onto the rock and wrapped her tail neatly around her paws like a healer wrapping a leaf-thicket around a small bundle of herbs. “Think we gave those mangy Rock Cats a good enough lesson?” she questioned. The cats below them had blood thirst in their eyes as their pelts were as prickly as thistles. The large tom gave a slight nod. “Of course we did,” he answered. “No cat dares mess with The Bracken. We always teach them a lesson.” His claws became unsheathed and scratched against the rocky surface, glinting under the light. The she-cat’s ears twitched and she leaped off of the rock gracefully. Her spot got claimed by a small black cat who could barely be seen in the night, though rays of moonlight made his fur look brighter. “We did it, Hawkshadow!” His blue eyes glittered as he gave a slight bounce. “I think Leafspeckle will know not to come into our territory for seasons to come!” “And I am proud of you, my friend,” the taller tom murmured, letting out a slight purr. He then cuffed the cat’s ear, making him wriggle slightly. We could have been more than just enemies if you weren’t part of The Rock, Hawkshadow thought. But it would never work. The Bracken will always be my home and I would never give up a single day being known as a Bracken Cat. He hated himself for thinking he could elope with an enemy fighter, let alone the leader of The Rock. Though his Group did not care of forbidden romances because all that mattered to them was getting full custody of the kits, he did not feel too fond of being mates with a cat from another Group. The only thing Hawkshadow wanted was the bask of glory in a battle and full leadership of The Bracken. He pushed away the thought of The Rock leader out of his mind. He had much better things to be caring about. We planned on leaving the Groups to form our own. Kestrelfeather and I need to go meet them before the night ends. “We should go see them while our camp mates are distracted by those Rock Cats,” Hawkshadow meowed quietly to him. Kestrelfeather nodded. * * * Several cats stood near a glacier that had separated from the land they set paw on. An ominous feeling crept through Hawkshadow as he headed over to them leaving Kestrelfeather trailing behind. A lean brown tom’s head lifted, his dark gaze giving him a friendly stare. “We thought you’d never come!” he remarked, standing up. “I have duties to do, haven’t I?” Hawkshadow questioned back. Russetsky, Ashcloud, Eagletalon. He tasted the air again. Redwing, Stormcloud and Screech. He narrowed his eyes. And then Stoneclaw decides he will be late, as usual. “We’ve been waiting for him for a while,” Ratfang meowed as if he could read his mind. “I have no idea what’s taking him so long to get here.” “You’re in the same Group as him. How come he is late and you’re early?” Most of his friends were from The Glacier, Kestrelfeather being the only one in his Group. Redwing and Ashcloud were both from The Lightning though Redwing rarely came to arrangements for them to all talk to each other besides at Gatherings. “I don’t really know,” Ratfang admitted. “I would have thought he’d be right behind us, but he must have decided to go somewhere else. Maybe some cat caught him and took him to Featherflight.” “That would ruin everything we planned for moons.” Hawkshadow’s voice contained the faintest suggestion of a growl. A yowl echoed towards them before a gray pelt finally got into his sight, giving an embarrassed look as he approached them cautiously. “For Star’s sake, Stoneclaw, where have you been?” “I got distracted by something,” Stoneclaw answered. Ashcloud narrowed his eyes. “Did you fall on a bit of ice again?” he questioned. Stoneclaw hesitated. “Yes. I hate ice so much! I always end up slipping on a bit every single time I walk out of the camp! I’m so glad we’re finally leaving this dumb place.” “It’s so typical of you to not be used to your own territory,” Ashcloud sighed. “When will you ever be used to walking on ice like a Glacier Cat usually is? When you’re getting chased by a falling glacier and almost drown?” “Shut up!” Stoneclaw looked even more embarrassed. “Try living on ice without falling every so often!” “When the stars end, I’ll consider it.” “You wouldn’t exist.” “That’s my point.” “Quit arguing,” Hawkshadow interrupted. “I’ll shove you off the edge of that icy cliff so you can look like a drenched Ratfang.” Ratfang’s ears twitched at the mention of his name. “I don’t look that bad,” he muttered. “Don’t worry, I’d join you so we can look like drenched Ratfangs together,” Russetsky meowed, resting his tail-tip on his friend’s shoulder. “Unless I end up drowning to my death, then we can’t.” “I’d drown, too, if I fell into water!” “Of course you would. Ratfang fell into a puddle not long ago when the rain last came in leaf-bare and thought he was drowning. He panicked so much I believed I would join the Star because I laughed so much!” Russetsky’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “Funny,” Hawkshadow answered as Ratfang gave his chest fur quick licks. “Hey, I’m a Glacier Cat not a River Cat like in those stories you heard when we were nothing more than kits scared of snow and ice.” “You looked like a snow cat whenever we wandered out of the nursery,” Russetsky told him. “Your fur turned completely white once.” “I felt like a snow cat then.” “One time Hawkshadow and I were walking and a branch ended up hitting him in the face,” Kestrelfeather meowed. “He looked so scared, you’d think an eagle carried him away!” “So where will we be going to then?” Eagletalon asked Hawkshadow. Finally, a cat who understands why we’ve met up here. “You did have this all planned out for us.” “Far away from here,” Hawkshadow replied. Kestrelfeather leaped forward. “So far we end up meeting those other Groups like The Pine we’ve heard of in tales?” he questioned excitedly. “They’re only stories told to dumb kits who will believe in it,” Hawkshadow snorted. “There are no other Groups besides The Bracken, The Rock, The Glacier, The Breeze, The Scorch and The Lightning. You should know that.” “Let Kestrelfeather believe in whatever he wants. He is nothing more than a kit, you know,” Redclaw meowed, casting a sideways glance at the black tom. “Kits shouldn’t even be going on a journey,” Stormcloud agreed. “It’s too tiring and scary for them.” “I’m not a kit!” Kestrelfeather argued. “I’m a fighter! I battle and protect my Group with my life.” “There are no kits here,” Screech muttered. Wherever we go, it’ll be too far for the Groups to ever hunt us down. As much as The Bracken is my home, the wind calls my name to somewhere else I belong.